Design Trends for 2019

Flat UI took over skeuomorphism in 2013 and has been dominating the trend for the past 5 years. At first the flat user interfaces we got were quite simple— single-coloured elements that stand out from the content and background.

Flat UI Concept for Spotify in 2013

While Flat UI has evolved in certain ways, it has always stuck with the principles of lean design. In recent years, interfaces have seen an increase in 3D design with the principles of Flat UI; also known as Isometric Design.

These design concepts often have very outlandish designs that have a deciphered meaning. For example, the picture above shows possibly how e-commerce works.

However, in 2019, we could see designs getting more depth and dimension. Flat UI images would stack up to create a three-dimensional perceptions or even possibly have a mixture of 3D images and flat design. This might lead to the resurgence of skeuomorphic design.

While we looked to simplify Skeuomorphic UI with Flat UI back then, we’re now trying to make Flat UI a little more sophisticated. However, none of these matter if the UX makes little to no impact on the user. Designing for the digital consumption allows the most flexibility because we can customise solutions that fit problem and also explore further as we try to make emotional impact with these designs.

Typography Trends in 2019

Typography has always played a huge part in web and app design. With web fonts now easily accessible, websites can now take advantage of these services to implement these typefaces on their website. The trend for typography is relatively similar in terms of how they are used.

With large bold fonts splashed across the screen for call-to-action headers, to animated typography, these large typefaces no longer have long sentences but a short phrase to maintain its readability.

These are also easier to scale when creating a more universal experience across devices without having to struggle to fit an entire sentence within the ‘hero’ part of the website.

Typography has also taken its form in 3D — sometimes with animations to evoke the correct emotion that the designer is trying to convey for the brand.

While there are no longer the days where designers have to wreck their brains on what kind of fonts could be used online, there are frankly a lot more options for different types of fonts and richer typography variables to be explored in 2019.

Branding & Logo Design Trends in 2019

While web and app UI/UX seem to be getting more sophisticated in terms of design, it would seem that Branding and Logo Design trends in 2019 are stepping into a very different world. Take for example, in the luxury brand category.

It would seem that these luxury brands are moving away from serif typefaces and moving towards sans serif typefaces. At first, these designs might seem interchangeable, but look harder and you’ll see differences. Some are heavier weights, while others have more space between the letters. In fact, many purveyors of upscale goods are choosing to go with a similar look. These fonts, apart from the lack of character, also lack the look of luxury.

Honestly, the new logos aren’t very different from those of other fashion brands, but I do think that this might only be happening with luxury brands — for now.

In 2019, for sure, logos are moving towards a simpler or cleaner look.

With that said, I am all for the cleaner and simplified visual identities. But I do think that it is more important to embody your brand, be recognisable, timeless and versatile. However, if everyone were to take that route by using only sans serif typography, I do think we might have a problem.

What do you think are the other trends that will shape up in 2019? I would love to hear what you guys think. Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.